I grew up in a family that had the funds for necessities, but nothing for extras. For our birthdays, we never received a gift; we had only a cake. Mother wrapped coins and placed them in between layers of the cake. Each of us always hoped …( read more )

One Christmas in my youth, I received an artist's easel, a pad of large newsprint paper the exact size needed for the easel, and water colours, complete with brushes. This gift was likely expensive and would have given me hours of …( read more )

Do you ever wonder how many spiritually lost people you pass each day? It was December 2018. I needed to run to the store to finish Christmas shopping. I felt a strong urge to grab a tract and a coupon that I had just received in the …( read more )

Recently, my husband and a friend were outside cutting down trees on our property. The area where we live is surrounded by many maple trees and silver birches. Unfortunately, many of the birch trees are dead and need to be taken down. They …( read more )

Today marks 105 years since the sinking of the Titanic. On April 14th, 1912, this "unsinkable" ship met its fate in the Atlantic Ocean. Then 100 years later, on January 13, 2012, the cruise ship, Costa Concordia, met its fate in the …( read more )

Last summer, my daughter, her husband and their young family travelled through Washington State, USA, on their way to Yellowstone Park. They stopped in a little Bavarian-themed town called Leavenworth, to look around. One of the stores …( read more )

The young person sat before me and said, "I stole watermelons only once." I don't recall even nodding before the rest of the story came out: A group of us young people went in a car to large fields known for their watermelon patches. …( read more )

Recently, I attended a tent revival meeting, and the evangelist made a statement that really surprised me. To paraphrase, he said that he doesn't concern himself about the contentious issues between the church and the world. The Bible is …( read more )

I have an interesting application on my cell phone that tracks my driving habits. It's for my insurance company, which sold me on it by saying that it could save me "up to 25 percent" on my vehicle insurance, which would be really neat! As …( read more )

There is really only one answer: I do palliative care at our local nursing home. I sit with dying patients, both those who are peaceful and those who are frightened. I offer to pray with each of them. If they answer "yes", I pray aloud …( read more )

The other day when I was tramping through the brush to untangle one of the horses' stake lines, I found myself heaving such a sigh of pleasure and relief. Why? Because we don't have any type of snake in the far north. It's just too cold …( read more )

Recently, I participated in a wonderful funeral service. That may sound weird, but it turned out to be a joyous celebration of a life lived well. The person concerned was a very gentle, humble, kind man, who touched the hearts and lives …( read more )

There is a huge, dead tree leaning precariously beside the path where I walk each day. The tree has been dead for a very long time. Its trunk is naked and bleached by the elements, and its branches, stripped of all foliage, creak and …( read more )

Ah, it's Christmas movie time once again, and how I love the collection we have compiled over the years: comedies, dramas, and musicals — so many, in fact, that we can watch a different one almost every evening during the Advent season. …( read more )

With race riots, government oppression, radicalized terrorists, horrific new diseases, and financial meltdowns, today's world is in as much darkness as it was 2000 years ago, and as it was before that, when people were hoping for a …( read more )

At work, there is a white pail with a large red and black label which reads, BIOHAZARD. Sharps, gloves, clothes, and other items which have come into contact with contaminated or infectious people or things must be placed in this pail …( read more )

When I was a young boy, my grandfather often took me to Ninth Street in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, popularly known as The Italian Market. Vendors would openly sell meat, poultry, fish, fruit, vegetables, and especially …( read more )

The Fourth of July is celebrated in the United States to commemorate the Declaration of Independence, which was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. On July 4th, flags of red, white, and blue known as "Old Glory" or "the …( read more )

Eye surgery. It seems like every time we turn around, someone is having it: eye surgery for their cataracts. I surgery. It seems like every time we turn around, someone ought to get it: I surgery for their selfish attitude. With eye …( read more )

Soft music was playing in the background as I was writing in my journal. It had been a while since my last entry. Again, my writing had been put on the back burner, and I found myself wanting to get back into writing and meditation again. …( read more )

There are a lot of For Dummies books available. We have a few of them around our house: – Guitar for Dummies – Digital Photography for Dummies – Scrapbooking for Dummies – GPS for Dummies – PCs for Dummies I must say that …( read more )

Among my treasures I have a letter.

The letter is from a lady who was the young wife of a student minister. I was a very young teacher when I received it, and had been home for a weekend or two when the young couple was ministering in …( read more )

I was invited to join a family for a birthday supper. When we were all seated, a little toddler in his highchair stretched out his chubby arm to the centre of the table and stuck his fingers into the frothy … (read more)

"We're emancipated; we're liberated; we're in control, don't worry." These confident utterances are arising from young adolescent girls trying to console worried adults, according to a Maclean's magazine article, "Outraged Moms, Trashy Daughters" (August 16, 2010). The article expresses a … (read more)

"We are most truly human, most fully ourselves, most profoundly free when we live in response to God's grace." – Migliore One day while visiting a school, I noticed an unhappy grade six boy sitting outside the French classroom. This … (read more)

This past winter, I went to a long-term care facility to feed an elderly lady five or six times a week. The family that usually goes to feed her twice a day went on vacation for two months. This long-term … (read more)

At fifty years of age, there are many things I still don't understand any more than I did when I was younger. For example, a tornado rips through a heavily populated area, killing innocent people and instantly destroying possessions that … (read more)

Controlling and controlled — both have the same root word, but entirely different results. Type A personalities are usually the first and Type B the latter. I've known both in my lifetime, and I'm not sure which I would rather … (read more)

We own a small holiday trailer that we keep in our driveway during the spring and summer months. That way, it is handy to hook onto and use whenever we choose to do so. Once fall comes, though, we don't … (read more)

This Scripture verse regarding God's indescribable gift has been written on every card my sister has sent or given to me my whole life — not just at Christmas, but on other occasions as well. I have often wondered what … (read more)

What a delightful season we are entering! Robins return home and tiny crocuses poke their little heads up through the warming earth, even amidst the last bit of clinging snow. Baby ducklings follow mama duck, curiously turning to and fro, … (read more)

For those of us in northern climes, a snowfall in winter is a common sight. Everyone has a different way of dealing with snow. One winter, I was very lazy, and never cleared away any of the snow that fell … (read more)

My Christmas gifts while growing up were small, but very meaningful. In a family of nine children, there were no elaborate gifts. Back then, we were not into the age of technology, so our parents did not have that challenge … (read more)